Fixing Health Care with the New Yorker

January 31, 2013

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Last week, ImageThink was on hand to capture an important conversation about the future of our healthcare system. New Yorker staff writer Malcolm Gladwell hosted a candid conversation with David Goldhill, the author of the new book “Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father—and How We Can Fix It.”
Goldhill, whose father died from a hospital-borne infection in the intensive-care unit of a hospital, made the case that the American healthcare system is beyond repair. He pointed to poor service, inconsistent quality and skyrocketing costs as indicators that our system is ailing — and current legislative attempts at reform are falling short. During the evening’s discussion in front of an intimate audience at Joe’s Pub, Goldhill raised the question: “What if we went ‘rogue’?” What would happen if we abandoned our preconceived healthcare system and re-imagined it completely?
Goldhill argued that a better alternative for our healthcare dollars would be to invest more in preventative care for younger patients. They discussed the role of technology — and how good healthcare doesn’t necessarily mean technologically complex care. Goldhill held up veterinary medicine and dentistry as two fields where competitive practices had prevailed in more affordable and more consistent care.
You can see from Heather’s layered rendering of the conversation, that we’re only scratching the surface here. You can see the entire video of the event on the New Yorker website.